I told you all about the hockey games, but Kris and I also got a couple of other tickets too… and I am so glad we did! It exposed us to these sports that we knew so little about and rarely have the chance to see (maybe only once every four years) so, for that reason alone, it was worth it.

Oh yeah. I think curling just may be climbing that list as my 2nd favorite Winter Olympic sport… but it’s really hard to figure since there are so many good ones. But seriously, curling is awesome. I had no idea what I was missing until we checked out the Men’s Round Robin round last Friday. The game itself is quite strategic – like chess on ice! – but it was once again the amazing fans and Olympic atmosphere that help you get all caught up in the moment. Curling matches are usually more quiet like golf matches – the crowd is hushed and then there is some light applause when the player does well… well, Olympic curling in Canada is another matter all together.

We entered the Olympic ticket lottery almost two years ago, and I just randomly checked curling because I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn about it… so glad I did. Now, I can’t wait to actualy try it! We got Men’s tickets, but I wish we had scored some Women’s too – it is just so neat to watch. The Canadian team is 9-0, an amazing streak. The US is not faring as well, but they are young (they look like college students) and have more time to develop. Here is a short video I took as the games were going on. What you DON’T see on TV is that there are four games going on simultaneously on four different sheets of ice. So, there is always something to watch and cheer for! The day we were there, it was China/Norway, US/France, Canada/Denmark, and Germany/Switzerland.

Kris and I studied the Wikipedia guide to Curling before we went to the game (while watching some matches on TV) and generally learned about the strategy. It’s fascinating!

We also got a change of scenery as we made our way across the channel to North Vancouver en route to Cypress Mountain. Cypress is the location for the snowboard competitions, and freestyle skiing – moguls, ski/board cross, and aerials. We had tickets for the Men’s Aerials qualification round, so we got to see some high-flying acrobatics! It was amazing. And it was also freezing! (Vancouver has been so balmy and spring-like that Cypress was a bit of a shock – and a reminder of home with some snow on the ground… but we layered up!)

There were 25 skiiers from many different countries, and the top 12 competitors (with a combined score from their two runs) goes on to the competition round on Thursday. Our tickets were for standing room, so we saw a nice view of the skiier coming down the mountain, but it was harder to see their landing, so we were looking up at the projection screens for that. After each run, the little army of blue Olympic volunteers would go and inspect the snow and repack it to make it safe for the next competitor. They were truly “shovel-ready”!

From this short video, you can see how fast each run is – the skiier comes down from the top right and BOOM! hits the podium and flies up and twists and flips and curls all around… and then… (usually) lands on their feet. It’s jaw-dropping. Some of the skiiers got to 50 ft in the air on one jump! Scary – but amazing too!

…and Kris and I watched from down below with huge smiles on our faces! )…

32 Responses

You are so lucky! I have been glued to my couch every night watching as much of these amazing Olympics as possible. The excitement! The drama! Those ski jumpers are off the hook amazing! You look to be having such a good time, which is just as it should be. Enjoy the rest of your trip, and if you happen to bump into Aksel Lund Svindal, give him a kiss from me.

Okay, so I was UBER-jealous about all of the hockey you guys are seeing…but curling too?? The Tournament of Hearts was here in Calgary last year, so we got to see Kevin Martin (Canada’s Skip) live…what an amazing team! You truly got to see the best of the best!!!

I’m glad you got into the curling action since, as a sport, it seems to be so hot right now I’m sure it’s so fun to learn about all of the new and different sports that we don’t think about so much but that others take really seriously. I hope you’re having an amazing time! It all sounds so exciting! xoxo

I think curling is my new favorite too. I watched some with my dad recently, and we had a grand old time trying to figure out what was going on and all the terminology. It just seems too bizarre not to love!

Curling is quiet? I’ve never been to a quiet game. Of course I’ve only gone on work fun days so there may have been a wee bit of the wobbly pop. Seriously, curling is fun! I’m no good, but the few times I’ve been have been great.

Glad you are having so much fun at the Olympics! I hope you enjoy Vancouver and make it out to see a bit of the city too. Vancouver Island is worth the trip too, if you can manage to get out there.

Chess on ice – I think that’s a great description for curling! I’m glad you had the opportunity to discover and enjoy a sport that’s not as well known as most others in the Olympics. And watching the men’s aerial ski must have been awesome!
There you are, again with the big smile! I love it!

It’s funny you say “if you don’t see curling on tv” because that’s nearly the ONLY olympic coverage we are getting. We are military living in Japan, so we have Armed Forces Network coverage and apparently the people who pick what we watch love curling too. But this was the year for us to understand it more. Enjoy your experience!

Curling is quite big here since it’s a Scottish game. I tried watching the match between the Swedish and GB team, I couldn’t understand a word either said! I do love the aerials though. Glad you’re having fun!

Anyway, I’m glad you’ve discovered curling. If you can find a friend to watch it with you to explain some of the intricacies as you watch, that helps a lot, too. That was my introduction to curling, and now I’m hooked. I adore Glenn Howard (Ontario’s skip), but I’m having a pretty serious lovefest for Kevin Martin and his boys right about now.

I was very aware of your love for “our” National Sport but now I am thrilled to discover that you have found our “other” National Sport! Great game and played in EVERY place with more than 200 people!!! Glad you are enjoying the Olympics and Vancouver. Your pics are fantastic!
Do you have more hockey tickets?? enjoy the rest of the week.

Lolly, do you have HBO? If so, when you get back, you need to “on-demand” Real Sports. The show last week had a feature on curling and interviewed all the guys on the U.S. team. Since there aren’t professional curlers in the U.S., they have other jobs like bartender and substitute teacher. The interviewer asked if they are recognized when they go out. One guys said, “Yeah, by people I know.” I really enjoyed the feature.

gotta love curling – great pics! it’s totally fascinating to me to watch. if you’re up for a very Canadian movie, check out “Men with Brooms”. i think there’s a lot of references that Americans might not get (or at least my friend from Spokane was lost), but it’s a great movie about curling (but not JUST about curling).

I’m happy you got to see the aerials! Adam and I had tickets to this event in Torino, but there was too much snow and the buses were starting to slide on the little switchbacking road up, so they canceled it. They said it might be two hours before they could make the road safe and start taking spectators off the mountain, so most of us elected to hike about 8k down to the village with the train station. (Fortunately the aerials crowd was self-selecting as a young, fit crew.) There was enough light from the venue at the top of the mountain and the town below to see our way, so off we went. It was the most memorable part of our trip, trekking down through the snow, glissading from one switchback to the next among young people from all over Europe. Down in the village people were hanging out their windows and rushing to open the bars and prepare warm drinks — it was wonderful.

I am just the teeniest bit regretful not to have seen the aerial jumpers, though. What an amazing sport. Almost as amazing as those Norwegian curlers’ pants.

I’m so glad you got to go to so many excellent events! (I’m a little sad that the curling is almost over. The finish of the women’s gold medal game last night was very exciting! Yes, I said exciting. About curling. And I meant it.)